Thanksgiving Lessons Learned

Deeeeelicious.

So, this year, we spent Thankgiving quietly, just the four of us.  I DVRed the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and cooked way too much food for two adults and two toddlers.

Last night, I made deviled eggs and cupcakes. I don't like pumpkin pie all that much, so I decided to make something I'd enjoy more. I've been teaching myself how to decorate cookies and cupcakes over the past few years. I experimented with icing dye this time. These are also the Fundamiddle cupcakes Sean bought. I ate one last night and they're ridiculously good. 

So, this is what I/we learned this Thanksgiving:

Food

• Slow-cooked green beans taste even better if they're slowly cooked in chicken broth, bacon, and onion, instead of water, bacon, and onion.
• Substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream in green bean casserole is acceptable.
• The best method for making simple mashed potatoes is from Yahoo Shine. I say method, not recipe. 
• It's a lot easier to cook a turkey properly if you actually know where the inner thigh of the turkey is.

Entertainment

• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is still fun to watch; Ainsley particularly enjoyed the musical numbers, Dora's Christmas float, and, of course, Santa.
• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade announcers are ridiculous self-involved chimps. If I could have reached through my TV and punched Laura Lee Bell in the face, I would have.
• Nickelback ruins everything.
• That Ice Age Christmas special is ridiculously cute.
• Taking a nap from 4:30 to 6:45 is RAD.
• Cleaning the living room is much more fun if it's in preparation for putting up a Christmas tree! 

I barely had time to
grab my phone
for this picture.

We have much to be thankful for this year...and every year really. What I enjoyed most about this year was just being with the Stewarts. I didn't do any work. I didn't have to run any errands (somehow miraculously, we had all the groceries we needed for dinner). I just had a nice day with Sean and the kids.

The kids ended their evening with cupcakes. Xander, true to form, smashed his into his maw in 4.5 seconds.

Ainsley was more delicate...and really hyped up on the Santa sightings. So, I took advantage and got this bit of video.